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FCA profits surge in second quarter

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave the cash register a beating in the second quarter, improving its net profit to 333 million euros ($364M US), which is a 263-percent jump over its reported Q1 profit of 92 million euros ($108M US). At the same time, FCA improved its global profit margin to 7.7 percent. Compared year-over-year, in Q2 2014 FCA reported net profit of 197 million euros making this year's Q2 a 69-percent increase, and profit margins a year ago were 4.9 percent. The two big factors for this increase are strong NAFTA sales and Jeep. In the US alone, Jeep sold 222,940 units in Q2 this year, a jump of almost 20 percent over the same period last year. Revenue in the NAFTA region totaled $18.8 billion, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were $1.45 billion, both of those numbers more than doubling compared to 2014. The vastly better numbers come on marginally more global sales, 1,181,000 units sold in Q2 2014, 1,193,000 units sold in the same span this year. In the US, FCA began charging dealers one-percent more for vehicles to up the margins, a move that helped boost its US margin from 4.1 percent a year ago to 5.8 percent the first half of this year. The company is holding steady on its guidance of global deliveries at 4.8 million and its net profit guidance at $1.1 to $1.3 billion. It has increased its adjusted outlook for the year to $120.5 billion in revenue, and EBIT to "over $4.93 billion." News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Jeep FCA

Weekly Recap For 5.20.16 | Autoblog Minute

Senior Editor Greg Migliore recaps the week in automotive news, including a look at the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato, two Volvo concepts, and the FCA Jeep airbag recall.

2019 Jeep Renegade revealed with a more mature, aggressive look

Jeep has finally revealed the refreshed 2019 Jeep Renegade compact crossover SUV. So far, only the exterior has been shown, and it does reveal a number of differences from the current model. At the front, we can see the Renegade now has available LED headlights similar to those offered on the Wrangler. The individual grille slats are wider with slimmer chrome bezels, which help to give it a more aggressive look. The front bumper has been completely redesigned, with the fog lights appearing to be bigger, and they now sit in the main lower grille. That grille is flanked by two triangular air inlets. Around back, the Renegade is nearly unchanged. The taillights are the only major change, and the dark red lights lend a more premium, mature look to the little crossover. We also see that the Renegade now sports an obvious grab handle for opening the rear hatch. Other details are scarce, as Jeep did not reveal much else with the two photos above. We've reached out to Jeep for more info but haven't received a response at the time of writing. We do know from the previous teaser of the new model that the Renegade will offer both three- and four-cylinder engines in Europe. The three-cylinder displaces 1 liter and makes about 120 horsepower, and the four-cylinder is available in two forms, one that makes 150 horsepower, and one that makes 180 horsepower. All of them are turbocharged. Spy shots have also hinted that the Renegade could also be getting a hybridized version. Related Video: Image Credit: Jeep Jeep Crossover SUV Economy Cars jeep renegade